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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23392783">Embers of a King</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/ViolentVioletEye/pseuds/ViolentVioletEye'>ViolentVioletEye</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Hermitcraft, Minecraft (Video Game), Team Crafted</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Author ruined me with her story so I'm retaliating-with fluff, EXTREME SLOWBURN, Five Stages of Grief, Found Family, Gen, Grian needs to be protected, Healing, Herobrine and Grian are the endgame relationship but its gonna be awhile before I get there, Herobrine is a good guy, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, I have nothing against the Hermits, I'll fix this myself, Its their minecraft skins, King Grian, Like im not kidding here, M/M, Not real people, Soft Seto is my favorite Seto, The Nether (Minecraft), kingdom - Freeform, minecraft personas ONLY, slowburn</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-03-30</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-08-23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-01 16:08:46</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>5</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>5,108</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23392783</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/ViolentVioletEye/pseuds/ViolentVioletEye</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>{CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR GRIAN THE GRIEVANCE}</p><p>What if the Hermits never found out that Xisuma had been replaced by Ex? You would think that would leave Grian to rot in the single-player world, with NPC Grian manipulating his every move and keeping him in line. But luckily, there's one entity that won't let that happen. So he sends down his most powerful follower and ex-apprentice to save Grian, and help him create a Kingdom of those who are lonely and have been cast out just like the three of them.</p><p>{My take on my friend Author's story, Grievance. Check it out! I've been beta-reading it since the beginning and it leaves a deeper hole in my heart each time. This is me trying to fix that. That being said, this has intense spoilers so I highly suggest reading that first. Also! This is now on Wattpad, if you would rather read it there :) My account is called XxWolfRocksxX there.}</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Herobrine/Grian</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>43</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>153</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Prologue</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">
      <li>For <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/AuthorForHire/gifts">AuthorForHire</a>.</li>


        <li>
            Inspired by

            <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/21782722">Grian the Grievance</a> by <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/AuthorForHire/pseuds/AuthorForHire">AuthorForHire</a>.
        </li>

    </ul><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Beta read by AuthorForHire! Check her out! https://archiveofourown.org/users/AuthorForHire/profile</p><p>My take on my friend Author's story, Grievance. Check it out! I've been beta-reading it since the beginning and it leaves a deeper hole in my heart each time. This is me trying to fix that. That being said, this has intense spoilers so I highly suggest reading that first.</p><p>Btw, the endgame relationship is Herobrine X Grian if you didn't read the tags. I'm not called the Matchmaker for no reason.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>
    <strong>"I'm not leaving him there!"</strong>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>The Nether castle was empty. The servants had fled, even the most iron will of them. They had been told to, and they barely needed to be told twice. When their King was in this mood, only one person could talk him down.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"My Lord, you will only <em>frighten</em> him."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The room was trashed. It was a sitting room, once. But it had the misfortune of being the room Herobrine was in when he received word of the latest happenings in the Hermitcraft server. What was meant to be a safe place had turned dark and dangerous, and he was furious. The coffee table was in splinters, the stone in the fireplace had been knocked from the wall, and one loveseat was torn in two while another was half out the window, singed by fire. Two figures stood in the room, one being Herobrine who had his back to the other figure. He was breathing deeply, but it did little to combat his rage. He only found himself getting more and more pissed. The words hadn't made him feel better, in fact, it only pissed him off even more because he knew they were the truth.</span>
</p><p>
  <span><strong>"I'll frighten that whole damn server!"</strong> He roared. The roots of the Nether trembled. <strong>"He was meant to be safe there! Away from the loneliness, away from that armor stand <em>freak!" </em></strong>He grabbed a bottle and hurled it across the room. It flew past the other person's face, inches from their cheek though they barely even faltered. They watched Herobrine as he continued in his rage, snarling things in English and what could be considered verbal End Script. Their dark puppy brown eyes were sad but firm, unrelenting even when facing a powerful would-be God.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"My lord," they whispered, but Herobrine was so far gone he practically wasn't there. He could hear them, dimly, but he couldn't place their voice to a face. They sounded familiar, but not enough to give him a name. He knew he should calm down. He was fizzing in and out like the glitch he was. That hadn't happened in a long time. It was a painful experience, but he was too furious to even notice the pain. The other person watched for a few more moments before they took in a deep breath and finally crossed the room. Their boots were iron-plated, and with every step, they clicked against the netherbrick floor. They stopped in front of Herobrine and grabbed him by the arm, throwing all caution to the wind. Almost immediately Herobrine was grounded and his calloused hand wrapped tightly around their wrist, threatening to snap the bone with his grip, but they didn't falter. Not for even a moment. Not even when Herobrine looked at them with his blazing white eyes, and was finally back (just a little) to see who they were. It was a man. He had chestnut brown hair, bangs pushed out of his face by a white, metal made crown. He was lean and wore long purple robes that reached the floors. He seemed unbothered by the blistering heat of the Nether. His hood, often up, was down at the moment. He had armored shoulder pads over his robes and thin strips of metal were wrapped around his waist, with a red sash tied around his waist to dangle over it and obscure from view. A medallion hung from his neck, with golden beads strung along the chain, leading up to the black disk of metal. Printed on the circle was a creeper's face. At the sight of his familiar face, something in Herobrine calmed, just a bit. It was hard not to. Seto Sorcerer was important to him, and he hated it when he saw him like this. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Let them ban him." Herobrine's eyes widened and they glowed brighter.</span>
</p><p>
  <span><strong>"What?"</strong> He snarled.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I said, let them ban him." Seto stared up into Herobrine's eyes. It caused quite the crick in his neck. Herobrine was at least a whole head taller than him, and Seto wasn't a short person. "If they do that, then they can't go to him. They can't <em>hurt</em> him anymore, Herobrine." He laid his other hand over Herobrine's, squeezing it the best he could with his angle. "And when he is in that world, transport me there. Allow me to help him, to comfort him. We can make a wonderful Kingdom, a world where all of your favorites can come and live happily and safely. If he wishes to, of course." </span>
  <span>Herobrine was calming down. The temperature in the room was no longer unbearable, and the glow in his eyes had dimmed significantly. He listened to Seto's smooth and calm voice as he took a slow and deep breath before he fixated on the sorcerer once more. He had been his pupil once, and now he was his greatest ally and his most powerful follower. He didn't flinch from him. He wasn't scared of him. Not like most. He supposed it could stem from how they met, and the years they had spent fighting and working alongside each other.</span>
</p><p>
  <span><strong>"You're right."</strong> He released Seto's wrist and cringed as he saw the bruise he had left behind. He reached towards it but Seto pushed his hand down firmly and pressed his own against it. With a shimmer of purple, it was gone as if it had never been there. His friend had burned enough energy from his near meltdown. He didn't want to risk him collapsing over a simple bruise. <strong>"You're right. It's rare when you aren't."</strong> Seto chuckled as the tension in his shoulders vanished. Herobrine was back now. It had been rough, as it always was, but it hadn't been impossible. It never was when it came to him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"You flatter me." Herobrine shut his eyes and drew in a deep breath, in and out, counted to five between each one until the fire in his chest didn't burn so badly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span><strong>"We will do as you suggested."</strong> He was still before he suddenly opened his eyes and frowned deeply. <strong>"And we'll do it <em>now."</em></strong> Seto blinked as he watched him walk across the room.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Now? You wish for me to be there before him?"<br/>
</span>
  <strong>"No. They've just banned him."</strong>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Setosorcerer has joined the server</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>The beginning bit is from Author's eighth chapter of Grievance. This is why you should reallly read her story first, at least up to the eighth chapter.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>
    <span>He released Grian and handed him another shulker of rustic building materials. “Build what you’re good at. You aren’t one for risks, Grian.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Grian stared down at the shulker before finally nodding. The wind in his sails had been completely taken away and his heart felt heavier than it had when he was in the blacklist room. Somewhere deep inside, he had hoped that they’d come back for him. But now? He wasn’t even sure why they had picked him up in the first place.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>So he kept building rustic houses. One after another, block by block. He didn’t eat or drink, and he certainly didn’t sleep. Once he passed out, but he woke right back up with NPC sitting by the side of his bed, smiling like he always was. Grian wished he could relate. By the time Grian had finished the fifteenth rustic house, he felt more like a robot than NPC ever did. All he did was build. Eventually, NPC was forced to make him stop periodically to rest. </span>
  </em>
  <span>“Can’t have you dying on me!”</span>
  <em>
    <span> He would laugh.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>He placed another staircase along the roof. He was barely paying attention now. Everything had become dull and grey, and overall he just felt numb. He heard NPC sigh behind him.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“You’ve placed it wrong. Again.” He groaned.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Grian simply removed the block and replaced it. “M’Sorry,” he muttered quietly.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <b>
    <em>Setosorcerer has joined the server</em>
  </b>
</p><p>
  <span>Grian wondered if he was seeing things, but NPC’s sudden swore made it very clear that he wasn’t the only one seeing it. Still, he couldn’t but help but blink at the chat message a few times. He barely heard NPC saying something about ‘taking care of this intruder,’ before the air around them suddenly crackled and seemed to come alive with an energy that Grian couldn’t describe. It made him think of Xisuma whenever he used his admin powers around them—which was few and far in between but the times it had happened had been electric, and damn near difficult to explain—and that thought made his stomach churn.  He shoved it away and instead focused on turning towards the source of the magic. What he saw pulled him from the numb state he had been in for Notch knew how long. It felt as though it had been years.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Standing there was indeed another person, a man. He had flowing purple robes, an iron crown, and dark brown eyes that didn’t look very impressed as he stared past Grian to look at NPC. “Who the hell are you?!” The living armor stand snarled. “How did you get here?!” The man—Seto?—stared at him for a moment longer before his gaze suddenly shifted, right onto Grian. His face softened and a smile lifted the corners of his mouth. He stepped forward.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hello, my dear. My name is Seto.” He held his hand out. “You’re Grian, right?” Grian stared, blinking blankly before he reached towards his hand. But suddenly, NPC was right between them, roughly knocking Grian’s hand to the side as he snarled like a feral dog.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He’s ‘None-of-you-business!’ How the hell did you get in?!” Grian peered around NPC, staring at the man in wonder. Seto had a frown on his lips as he looked NPC up and down, crinkling his nose as if he were some bug.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That is none of your concern.” His voice was even, but there was a sharpness to his words. Like an unspoken warning. Grian couldn’t decipher it. “I would like for you to move out of my way.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And I’d like for you to get the hell out of </span>
  <em>
    <span>my world—!”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>NPC swung for the intruder, but his hand was caught by Seto’s firm, iron-strong grip. NPC stared in disbelief as Grian watched with wide eyes. He stumbled back. He could never stop NPC’s blow, the ones he had suffered before he had left the world for others. He always tried, but the armor stand was inhumanly strong. How had this man just… </span>
  <em>
    <span>Caught </span>
  </em>
  <span>his hand like that?!</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t like to be touched,” Seto informed NPC in a low, firm voice, and then he crushed NPC’s hand in one simple squeeze. NPC stared, dumbfounded. Grian dropped the block he had been holding. Out from under Seto’s hand, purple flames rushed up NPC’s arm and quickly spread to the rest of his body. No matter how real he looked, at the end of the day, he was just a wooden armor stand. NPC was suddenly moving, thrashing around and trying to free himself as he let out horrible, wavering screams. Seto watched him with hooded eyelids, seemingly disinterested in his pain before he yanked NPC forward. His hand collided into his chest midway, and as his palm came in contact with his red shirt, NPC </span>
  <em>
    <span>exploded. </span>
  </em>
  <span>The armor stand collapsed and the pieces flew everywhere, the arms, the legs, the torso, and the head. It was a damn good thing he was made of wood and iron pieces because otherwise, it would have been a gory mess. But he only fell apart with one final scream that was drowned out by the clanking of the wood and iron. All the while, Seto looked disinterested. The only thing that was moved was his robes, and it from the breeze of NPC literally <em>shattering </em>into pieces. Soon after the pieces hit the ground, they were burned away with the same familiar purple fire from before. Not even ashes remained.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Grian fell back on his ass and stared with wide eyes, hyperventilating. Seto looked down at his hand and shook it, wiping it on the skirt of his robes afterward. Grian whimpered and Seto lifted his head and looked at him. Grian’s heart dropped. Was he next? Who the hell </span>
  <em>
    <span>was </span>
  </em>
  <span>this guy?!</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But Seto only smiled at him, the indifferent expression he had given NPC as he pulled him apart completely gone. It was replaced by a gentle and warm look in his eyes, a look that made Grian’s stomach tie up in knots. He almost wished he looked at him with indifference. That would be easier.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“My, that was dreadful, wasn’t it? I’m so very sorry for this horrible first impression!” He walked up to Grian and held his hand out. He smiled down at him. “My name is Seto, my dear. I’ve been sent to help you.”</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Talk of a Kingdom</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Seto offers Grian a way to escape his loneliness and to fill his world.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>
    <span>I'm glad NPC and I fixed up the house,</span>
  </em>
  <span> Grian dimly thought. He sat in the original house, the one that had existed before he and NPC had gone on a whole tangent of rustic house buildings. He was in the living room, sitting at a table behind the couch. He stared down at the table. Two days had passed, and it had done so in a blur. Nothing felt real, and he had difficulty keeping himself grounded. But whenever he drifted too far away, Seto was there. He would take his hand and speak to him gently. About what, Grian wasn't sure. Half of the time he couldn't hear him. But his voice was soothing and gentle, and his touch was warm and </span>
  <em>
    <span>human,</span>
  </em>
  <span> so it was enough to bring him back.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He hadn't drifted off since he woke up this morning. When he peeled his eyes open and felt the morning light on his face, he felt... Liberated. It was becoming clear to him that this wasn't some dream or hallucination as he had previously thought.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He was pulled from his thoughts by footsteps. Another good sign. The past two days, Seto often had to touch his shoulder to get his attention, no matter how loud of an entrance he had made. He lifted his eyes from the table in time to watch him enter the room, carrying a tray. He blinked, and Seto smiled at him. On the tray was... Tea. And toast. How...?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"You look much better!" Seto chirped as he set the tray down, sitting across from him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Yeah..." He said, rubbing the back of his neck. "Sorry, I-I'm not quite awake yet." Lie, but there was no other way to describe his confusion. "How… How are you here? Who are you?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Understandable," Seto quipped before he picked up his tea and sipped it. As Grian picked up his own cup, he realized it smelled of vanilla. "Let's start with an easy question. I am Seto. I suppose you could call me a... Traveler." Seto sipped his tea one more time and then set it back down. "As for how I'm here... That is more complicated."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Of course, it was. When wasn't the answer complicated? He gripped the tea in his hands, the warmth from the mug seeping into his palms. Not for the first time, he wished he had his sweater. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Uh, okay. Um. But seriously, who the hell are you?" Grian asked. "NPC is strong, I-I could never-!"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Your fear often makes things seem a lot bigger than they actually are." Seto smiled gently.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Grian fell into stunned silence. He stared down at his tea. He hadn't sipped from it yet, but the smell gave him some comfort. Seto watched him as he cradled the teacup with the care you'd give a newborn, his gentle smile still on his lips.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I suppose you could call me a traveler, and a... Caretaker, of some sort. I was traveling through the worlds when I felt your pain and loneliness. I had to come and check it out, and I'm very glad that I did." Grian was silent as he stared at the cup. Did the guy know? Would he run when he saw the mark on his hand? He'd have to have seen it by now, Grian wasn't exactly hiding it. Not like you could. "What are you thinking about?" Seto suddenly asked in a soft tone.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"... Are you an admin?" Grian asked. Maybe Seto could remove this damned marking. But Seto's face scrunched up as he leaned back, shaking his head as Grian's heart dropped.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Oh good lord, no," he said, then sipped from his tea. "But if you're asking because of that brand... I'm afraid I can't do anything about it."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I-it's not mine!" Grian said quickly. "O-or well, uh, i-it is, but, u-uh-"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Seto held up a hand. "There's no need to explain it to me. I know." Grian blinked and Seto cleared his throat. "I don't know how you got it, but I do know you didn't do it. That much is clear. You've been in such a state the past few days; if you truly were a griefer, then you would have tried to do something to me by now."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"... That's a dangerous way to think," Grian muttered. Anyone could lie. Not him, though. He was such a horrible liar. But Seto only smiled and shrugged.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Take into account what I did to that walking armor stand of trash. I don't think you'd be able to do anything to me." That… Was terrifyingly true. Grian gripped the mug tighter.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"... How long will you be staying?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Well... That's something else we need to speak about. I have a... Proposition for you, Grian." Grian laughed slightly, but it was hollow.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I'm not exactly a superb business partner." He said, pushing Sahara deep down and out of his subconscious. Seto laughed with him, but it seemed much more real.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Oh, this is far from a business. I'm talking about a Kingdom." Grian blinked at him. Seto stood up and flicked his hand. Grian jumped as a map of the world appeared, floating up and down as purple wisps fluttered around it. He stared with wide eyes as they filled the map in, growing to fit it all in.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"You have already built a good portion of houses, which is just perfect. Though it certainly looks like they could use some personalization..." He waved his gloved hand dismissively before he looked at Grian. "Oh, well, I'm getting ahead of myself! You see, Grian, I and a... Friend of mine have had this idea for a very long time. We would like a world where the broken, the lonely, those who have been cast out could come and live happily among others. A Kingdom, of sorts. And I believe you are the perfect one to finally help us make this happen."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"A, um, a what?" Grian asked. Had he misheard that? He had to have misheard that. No way that was that just said to him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"A Kingdom! A place where people can come and live a safe life. Whether it's exciting or peaceful is up to them," Seto chuckled. Grian looked down at his cup. So he had heard correctly, but how could Seto be serious? Who would be the King? Seto? And, of course, who would even come? It's not like anyone could trust him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"You do not have to take this offer," Seto told him gently. "I will not be upset or hold it against you. But could it be so horrible to at least try?" Grian bit his lip. He had already built so many houses, and he didn't want to be alone...</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"What makes you think they'll want to be in a world with me?" Grian said, holding up his marked hand.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Because quite a few of them have had that mark wrongly put on them too."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Grian's eyes softened. He'd want a place like that. He wouldn't want to be alone forever. And it was much better than building houses for nobody.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"... Okay." He whispered. Seto beamed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Wonderful! We'll rest another day and then get to work!"</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Sorry for taking so long to update guys. I hope you can forgive me. This virus stuff has been kicking my ass financially and emotionally. I hope you are all staying safe!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. A Rustic Break</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>While Grian sticks to his rustic houses, Seto drops a bombshell on his newest partner in crime.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>This chapter is so short. It's so fucking short and I am so sorry. I have no excuse. Once more, this pandemic has been kicking my ass and life has just been depressing me in general. But I wanna get back to this, I have so many plans I want to share with all of you- I literally cannot believe we're almost to a thousand hits I'm kjdhfkjlshdngfkljdg ANYWAY, despite how short this is, I hope you all enjoy, and I hope I can give you better content in the future.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Grian frowned down at the roof he was standing on. It didn't look right. Maybe it was because he had made so much of the same thing, so much that it was grating on his mind.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Grian!" He looked back. Seto was standing at the bottom, holding two mugs of steaming tea. He smiled at him. "Come down, take a break!" That was an enormous difference between Seto and NPC. Seto wanted him to take breaks. He encouraged him to. He was always bringing him tea, too. This wasn't the first time. Grian looked down at the roof he was working on and decided that it was best to take a break. He found it was easier to face builds if he took a break from them sometimes. Besides, he was so damn sick of rustic builds… He sighed before he used the scaffolding he had off to the side, sliding down to the ground where he met Seto on the porch of the house. They sat down, each holding their cups of tea.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How is the building going?” Seto asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Roofs suck,” he grumbled. Seto laughed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I can agree with that.” He clinked their mugs together before they each took a sip from it. Grian briefly noticed that Seto’s was darker than his, but he shrugged it off. In the past two weeks, he had learned that Seto often put things in his tea to make them smell or taste a certain way. It was strange, but not unwelcomed. He had asked him how he did it, but he had merely gotten a wick and a dismissive ‘its a secret.’ Once upon a time, that would have piqued Grian’s interest. But now… He just didn’t care. Being curious and going out of his way to figure things out had all come around to bite him in the ass and kick him out of the only home he had ever known.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Grian, might I suggest something?” Grian looked at the purple mage beside him. Seto was staring up at the house he was nearly finished with, a passive expression on his face. “Now, I love your style, and these houses are just beautiful—but, don’t you think you should… Add some variety?” Grian stiffened.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Build what you’re good at. You aren’t one for risks, Grian.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“What about something like, modern—?”</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“No!”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Seto looked at him in surprise, having not expecting such an outburst. Grian was panting as his heart raced, fears creeping up his spine. “No, no! I can’t do modern, I can’t, I can’t do futuristic, I can’t do anything but rustic! That’s all I can do! That’s—!” He paused as Seto cupped his face in his gloved hands, tilting his head up to look at him with wide panicked eyes. But Seto only smiled down at him, a sad understanding in his brown eyes. But how could he understand? How could he know what it was like to be outcasted and hated for something he had nothing to do with?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Alright,” Seto whispered. “That’s fine, Grian.” He pressed a kiss to Grian’s forehead, and the pounding of his heart stopped just from that action alone. He hadn’t expected that. His cheeks flushed red and Seto chuckled as he leaned back and looked at him with fondness. He dropped his hands to Grian’s and squeezed them. “Your rustic builds are gorgeous anyway. People will love them.” He patted Grian’s hand and then released them, picking up his cup of tea as he leaned back. “Besides, we could always gather a team of builders to handle other themes!” Grian nodded, taking deep breaths as his initial panic faded. Shit. That was a close one. “Oh, but, before I let you go back to building… I have something to ask of you, Grian.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“H-Huh? Oh, sure— ask away, then.” Seto sipped from his tea.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You asked me something a few days ago when I brought this idea up to you. As we’re nearing the boundaries we set down and you’re doing your last few houses, I thought we should talk about it. You asked who would be the King.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You, right?” Seto blinked and looked at him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Me?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I mean, yeah. You’re really charismatic, and… Warm.” Grian rubbed the back of his neck. “Not to mention, you have a crown.” He gestured to Seto’s head and Seto blinked before he smiled and set his cup down to reach up and pull off the metal crown he carried on his head with pride. He stared down at it, turning it over in his hands. It was then Grian realized, now that it was much closer to him and it wasn’t so obscured by hair, that it was rather beaten up. There were even a few dents it in, and there were worn down sockets that must have once had jewels. What had happened to them?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“This crown means nothing now,” Seto whispered and Grian was about to ask him what he meant when Seto looked at him and smiled.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, Grian. I don’t wish to be King. My… friend and I believe that it would be better if </span>
  <em>
    <span>you </span>
  </em>
  <span>were King.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Grian’s heart dropped to his feet.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. The Myth and the Legend</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Herobrine senses intruders.</p><p>Also, we don't do steve clothes here. You really think Seto's gonna let Herobrine walk around in that cyan shirt and jeans? wrong.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Herobrine laid in his bed, eyes shut, and breathing slow and calm. He had spent a lot of energy forcing Seto past the barriers of Grian’s world. Seto had been able to help of course, but Herobrine’s magic carried him most of the way. No matter how powerful he was, at the end of the day, Herobrine was the only God between the two. So Herobrine had spent the past few days recuperating and watching Grian via Seto’s amulet. He had been worried when he saw the state he was in after NPC’s ‘death.’ He had never seen a man so broken and blank. Well, that was half the truth. He had seen a man broken once, but never so blank and still. Broken people often cried, some even screamed. He never wanted to hear Grian cry or scream, but he had begun to think he’d prefer that over just dead silence. But Grian had broken himself out of the trance. Seto had helped, sure, but he had done most of the work. Now, if only Grian could believe that…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Herobrine let out a great sigh, moving his hand up to rub at his eyes. He opened them up afterward, filling the dim room with the glow of his white eyes. They had been dim when he laid down to get some well-deserved rest, but now they were back to their full, normal glow. He yawned and shut his eyes again, heaving out a sigh. He would need to get up soon. He had the Nether to look after. As much as he hated it, Grian wasn’t his only responsibility, nor was he the only player he watched over. He had to figure out who needed to come in the first batch, who would benefit from it the most… But that was hard. It was like trying to decide who to save first from your children. If that was the case, he had a lot of kids.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He snorted, the corner of his mouth twitching up in amusement. He shoved himself up, grunting a little as he rubbed the back of his neck. His body was still a little sore, but it wasn’t as overwhelming as it had been three weeks ago. He turned and pressed his feet down on the floor, about to rise to his feet when he suddenly felt a twinge in his chest. He paused. For a moment, he thought that maybe he wasn’t ready to get up yet. But then he felt the twinge again, and he realized it wasn’t coming from his chest, but his </span>
  <em>
    <span>core. </span>
  </em>
  <span>When the twinge happened again, he grabbed hold of it and let it take him to the source. He was taken to Grian’s world, and panic spiked in his chest. But Seto and Grian were fine. He could feel it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And then he felt it. Or, well, </span>
  <em>
    <span>them. </span>
  </em>
  <span>Two people, flying through the links between servers, trying to force their way into Grian’s private world. But it wasn’t just any two people, oh, no. It was...</span>
</p><p>
  <span>His eyes widened before they slowly narrowed. He shoved himself up to his feet, soreness be damned, and disappeared from his room with a brilliant white flash.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Mumbo and Cub came tumbling out of the portal, coughing as Cub landed on top of Mumbo on the floor. The air was thick with fumes, and when Mumbo peeled his eyes open he saw why. They were in a room made of bedrock. It was small, at least five by five blocks, and dimly lit with redstone torches. “What— What in the world?!” Mumbo coughed as Cub rolled off of him, pushing himself up to his feet. He lent his hand to Mumbo, who used it to pull himself up. “This isn’t Grian’s world!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Not unless he’s done some serious redecorating and doesn’t want anyone coming in,” Cub muttered as he looked around. Mumbo peered through the dim lights in the room, trying to see if there was anything in the room with them. He felt like he was being… watched. His eyes drifted over a dark spot in the corner before they darted back to it and stared. Mumbo slowly stiffened. “The portal must have messed up… Come on, let's go back and try again.” Mumbo didn’t respond, and instead grabbed his arm and pointed at the shape in the corner. Cub blinked at him and looked, squinting at the mass of shadows. It just looked like darkness to him. It wasn’t very lit on the other side of this weird-ass room. Hell, the portal gave off more light than the redstone torches then.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Then the shape opened their bright, white eyes and glared at them, and Cub’s heart plummeted right into his stomach.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Oh, </span>
  </em>
  <span>Mumbo thought numbly as the shape stepped forward, revealing it was actually a man. He was tall and broad-shouldered, and he wore a black overcoat that went past his knees and had no sleeves and a gray furred collar, a white shirt underneath that, and black knee-high boots with laces that crossed over each other up to the very top, right over his black jeans. His hair was dark brown, his skin very tan, and he had freckles that dashed over his nose and were spotted along his cheeks. But Mumbo and Cub were barely focused on that as they grabbed onto each other, staring at the man and his infamous white glowing eyes with their own wide eyes. </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>That’s Herobrine, </span>
  </em>
  <span>Mumbo thought numbly, as Herobrine, a servers-known myth and legend, glared at them with all of the hatred in the world.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
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